What a Bodyguarad Had Thought
by zielddhy
Summary: Li Jin, Ling Tong's bodyguard, reviewed his master's relationship with the former pirate a.k.a. as Gan Ning.


**Author's Notes:** Welcome to my first Dynasty Warrior fanfiction! The idea about this fic came to me out of sudden, as I realized the connection between the movies in Ling Tong's musou mode. I want to apologize for the awful grammar and mistakes in their conversations which on the game. Please point them out to me so that I can understand where my mistakes are.

It took me so long to finish this story, but thanks to my sister's endless encouragements and threats, I'm finally able to finish it. This story is dedicated to everyone who read it. I hope you enjoy reading this fanfiction as much as I enjoy writing it.

I realized that my story is historically incorrect, but I'm a Wu's fangirl so please pay no mind to the fact that Sun Ce was still alive at the Battle of He Fei.

**Warnings:** There's a little bit of shounen-ai, so if you don't like it, please go to the previous page.

**Disclaimer:** Dynasty Warrior is an amazing game owned by Koei and Omega Production while the characters of course belong to themselves.

Date started: 10-December-2005

**What a Bodyguard Had Thought**

**By: zielddhy**

My name is Li Jin; yeah some of you already knew who I am. Well, for you who don't know, I am Ling Tong's bodyguard. Huh? You don't know General Ling Tong? Where have you been all this time, anyway? Okay, let me explain. General Ling Tong is one of the most trusted general of Sun Ce, the ruler of Wu. This long-haired General is the son of Ling Cao. Hey, come to think of it, I remember a rather...memorable time when General Ling Cao was killed in battle by a reckless pirate, none other than Gan Ning. Wanna hear that story? Alright, here you go.

After General Ling Cao was killed, the word of his death reached General Ling Tong quickly. Soon after that, this Nunchaku-wielding general quickly tried to find the killer, to take revenge of course. I was riding a horse too, following him closely. Through glistening tearful eyes, I remember him swore: "Gan Ning, I swear your head will be mine!"

Yeah, like that. It was a common announcement in battlefield, especially if the one who said it has capability to do so. Anyway, when I heard that, all of my blood ran cold in my veins, because it was really rare for him to say that kind of thing. He was a cheerful general, always making up pranks and being punished in the end, and to hear him curse with such hatred was...

After some time, we finally reached where Gan Ning was, and this reckless brute was fighting as if there was no tomorrow. He sliced whatever in front of him and ran here and there. But I have to compliment him concerning his reflects. When my dearest general was trying to strike the pirate with his beloved Nunchaku, Gan Ning quickly turned around and was able to parry my general's attack. Seeing that his attacker was no one he knew, confusion quickly replaced his burning eyes and he shouted, "Hey, what the heck is your problem?"

Of course General Ling Tong answered it smoothly, but not without hatred in his eyes and voice. His flowing dark hair was damp because the rain but even I have to admit that they just made him look prettier. Okay, that's not the point. Anyway, the Nunchaku player answered, "Do you think you could escape from son of the man you murdered?"

As if it was not enough, General Ling Tong added, "Not even this world of chaos can hide you from my vengeance!"

Okay, to this, I thought it was the coolest proclamation of revenge I've ever heard. Why? Because my dearest general used such precise words which made Gan Ning's eyes just reflect more confusion. Guess his basic education was not so good after all...But certainly even the most idiot warrior knew the meaning behind those words. Gan Ning quickly got into a ready stance and these two were absorbed in a glorious battle of all battlefield. These two were not just capable fighters but they mastered their weapons completely. Every single movement of Rising Phoenix was welcomed by a swipe of that huge sword—which was called Sea Master by the way.

They fought for quite a time but no one was able to hurt the other. They parried each other's attack with such talent that made the other soldiers captivated, not wanting to lose a single moment of that magnificent duel.

Unfortunately, they had to stop because there was a song of victory from afar. I turned and saw the crown prince of Wu, Sun Ce, rode his horse fast, followed by several generals. A satisfied smirk brightened his dusted face, implying his successful campaign.

He quickly came to where Ling Tong and Gan Ning fought, and stopped between them, effectively ending the duel, a curious glance was in his intense eyes. General Ling quickly saluted to his superior, while the pirate just stared at Sun Ce.

Much to my amazement, I saw amusement in Sun Ce's eyes. The Little Conqueror had turned his eyes to Gan Ning right now. And the next words from his mouth clearly surprised me.

"Hey you! Pirate guy! Want to join me in conquering the land?"

At this point, I saw the shock in General Ling Tong's eyes and his jaw dropped open. Okay, General, you really need to close that jaw, you know. It is an undignified gesture. Okay, there you go, good boy.

"Forgive me for interrupting, my Lord, but I think you really need to reconsider-" Ling Tong's words were interrupted ungracefully by an amazingly energetic voice.

"Nothing needs to be reconsidered, my friend!" Sun Ce's slung an arm at Ling Tong's shoulder, making the scowl on that beautiful face deepened. "I want him as my officer because he has an amazing skill in wielding this huge buddy!" he patted the Sea Master in Gan Ning's hands, dragging Ling Tong's closer to the pirate by his neck. "Isn't that right, Zhou Yu?" The Little Conqueror turned to his lov–best friend, who leaned into a tree nearby, watching the scene with delight.

"I have to say that it's the only sensible idea you've said this week, Ce," the strategist answered, agreeing with Sun Ce, while implying a taunt as well.

"Yeah, that's right! It's the only sen– Hey! Are you insulting me?" mock anger replaced the cheerfulness in his voice as Sun Ce released General Ling Tong before quickly walked to where Zhou Yu stood. The said strategist hid a smile before mounting his horse, leaving the angry Little Conqueror behind, who quickly mounted his horse as well. Before he went, however, he said goodbye words to Gan Ning and my beloved General.

"Wait for me in the castle and we'll talk about your ranks later, okay? And you, Ling Tong, try not to kill him, will you? I promise he'll do well with us!" And with that, Sun Ce chased his lov–best friend, only God knows what they're going to do later.

I spared a glance to General Ling Tong, wondering what kind of hateful expression he wore now. What I saw clearly surprised me: Gan Ning had come closer to Ling Tong and before the Nunchaku-player had time to react –guess because he still stood in shock- the reckless pirate had slung an arm on my general's shoulder and placed a kiss on his cheek. Surprised and fury quickly came in his eyes and he mounted his horse, chasing the pirate who had fled earlier.

I quickly realized that this was a time to go, before the killing attempt my General would do on Gan Ning occurred.

&&&&&&&&&&

Right now I was at Wu's camp, located near He Fei. We will attack Wei at He Fei; some scouts told us that the defense there will be the best, despite their few numbers. Shu was the one who requested this assault from Wu and Lord Sun Ce realized that this was a great chance to finish Wei once and for all. He had asked General Lu Meng to carry out this task and allowed him to bring my dearest general and that newly promoted pirate with him. But the only problem was that General Ling Tong saw this from another point of view. From what he thought before, this was the time to make Wei eliminate Shu once and for all. If Shu couldn't hold them off, then it was their own fault to not preparing it well. With Shu eliminated, the only enemy remained was Wei. This what my general had thought, and personally, I agree with him.

The sound of heavy footsteps gained my attention and General Ling Tong rushed to the curtain, opening one of them and General Lu Meng revealed himself. However, the newly arrived general noticed the frown on my beautiful general and commented, "Don't look so down, Ling Tong."

The frown quickly disappeared behind a scowl as General Ling Tong recognized _who_ was following behind General Lu Meng. But he couldn't throw him out now, could he? So this longhaired General did the best thing he could do: he shut the curtain close with a jerk. Unfortunately this didn't make that dense pirate realized how unwanted he was. He calmly reopening the curtain and walked his own way towards the low table where the other generals were.

On the other hand, General Lu Meng had sat down and peered at the map laid before him. "In this battle, _we_ have the advantage." Okay, I agreed with him at this point, of course we had the upper hand but I knew there was a question my general desperately wanted to ask.

"We're attacking Wei at Shu's request? Why must we help them?" Ah! There it was! It seemed General Ling Tong had grasped the concept to asking a question instead of glaring at that silly pirate, whom at this point had placed his foots on the table carelessly.

General Lu Meng spared a glance to my dearest General before answering, "But, for our sake as well, we must capture He Fei and stop Wei's march south!" He emphasized this answer by firmly placed a peon, something we used to mark territories on maps.

Realization came to General Ling Tong's eyes and I could see a dim fire started to burn in those eyes. General Lu Meng's next words, however, did catch my attention.

"Gan Ning! You are the key to this battle! Got it?" General Lu Meng said as he threw the peon he used earlier. The reckless brute caught it in an instant (again, I have to compliment his reflexes at this point). This quickly made anticipation rush into the pirate's blood, or that was what I thought, because he answered it eagerly, "Right! Leave it to me!"

"Huh, are you sure your ship can carry the weight of your thick skulls?" General Ling Tong said to no one. But even the Wei General, Xu Shu, could understand whom my dearest general was referring to. So I was not surprised when that bird-feathers collector placed his hands on the table and glared at my beautiful general, who returned his glare challengingly.

You didn't need glasses to see the flickering fire between them, really. But you did need to hide quickly if you didn't want to get miss-slaughtered soon, for these two were ready to slay the other. Feeling a little bit left out perhaps, General Lu Meng gathered his courage and cleared his throat, although this didn't gain their attention. He cleared his throat again but it came out with the same result. Those two were still glaring at each other like there was no tomorrow.

Just when General Lu Meng tried to interfere -again-, that reckless brute had done something which I was sure he would never regret. It seemed that staring at the face in front of him, which just five inches away, was too much for him. Before General Ling Tong could move, this daring pirate had placed a quick kiss _on his lips._

Realizing his death were only five inches away, the tattooed man had exited the tent with rich laughter trailing behind him. At this point, my general's face had gone from red to purple. He quickly grabbed the nearest thing from him which, unfortunately for that pirate, was his beloved Rising Phoenix. The longhaired general rushed from the tent, trying to find the Sea Master's wielder.

On the other hand, only I and General Lu Meng left behind in the tent. As soon as we came to our senses, General Lu Meng asked me, "Li Jin, do you want to go to the nearest temple? Let's bring some offerings, so that Ling Tong will leave Gan Ning alive this time."

Still not trusting my ability to speak –considering what just happened not for two minutes ago-, I can just nodded and ran into the supply tent; preparing the offerings we would take. This must be done quickly, or General Ling Tong would come back, bringing that reckless brute's head on a plate.

&&&&&&&&&

The day to attack Wei at He Fei had come at last. Although their numbers were few, their strategy was clearly one of the best. Somehow, they managed to separate General Ling Tong from Wu's army. I was there with him, of course, but one could only do so much. I couldn't protect him myself and soon he found himself surrounded by several Wei soldiers. What I couldn't believe is: he still managed to curse, "Tche! What a pain," in his current situation.

No one moved for a while, and then some of the Weis tried to attack General Ling Tong. This longhaired general quickly moved to a defense position and a figure suddenly appeared in front of him. Much to my disbelieve, this figure was that reckless brute, a half-naked impolite man with -hey!- a new pair of feathers among a brand new headband.

With Gan Ning storming among them, Wei soldiers couldn't do anything but staring in shock. General Ling Tong quickly used this to his advantage. He moved gracefully, wielding his beloved Rising Phoenix. Soon, he and that reckless brute already stood back-to-back, their defense positions were ready at once.

I didn't know what was going on in my general's mind but I bet it was something nasty, because almost immediately he said: "So what? You think I'm going to thank you or something?"

As if to ignore the insult, the ex-pirate guy answered, "Don't be a fool. I have no intention apologizing of your father!" At this point, I thought what the pirate had said was the stupidest thing I had ever heard. I mean, c'mon, although my dearest general hadn't forgot about his father -I'm sure about that- but at least he had tried so hard to act civil around Gan Ning. And suddenly, that reckless brute came up with this problem again!

Uh-oh, I could see the flames burning once again in General Ling Tong's eyes. He quickly turned to face the other man, although Gan Ning still had his back on the longhaired general. Disbelief clearly shown in those beautiful eyes as the Nunchaku-wielding said, "What!"

I was pretty sure he had no doubt that Gan Ning would at least apologize to him sooner or later, but in fact, the pirate hadn't even thought about it. I can bet all my salary this month that the very thing which going through General Ling Tong's mind now was about whether Gan Ning had a brain or at least sense of dignity in him or not. Anybody who had killed someone's father must have some kind of...guilty in them, no matter what, even Lu Bu! Especially if this someone was your lov-I mean comrade-to-be. But this reckless brute over here apparently didn't have that.

Okay, go back to the scene. Hearing what General Ling Tong had said, Gan Ning turned around, determination on his face. He snorted carelessly and said, "Kill your enemies, protect your allies!" He said this with giving a-playful-hit to the longhaired general on his chest.

Surprised now gave way to my general's adorable face. It was clear that he never thought about this matter from an _objective_ point of view like that. Although understanding slowly dawned in General Ling Tong's eyes, the reckless brute still added, "It's as simple as that."

Now, if you look very, very closely, you would see a blush formed in the longhaired general's face as he turned his face aside, clearly trying not to look on the ex-pirate.

No one said anything for a moment, but it seemed that Gan Ning thought it was enough. He took a hold on General Ling Tong's chin and forced the other man to look at him. Still a little bit surprised perhaps, my dearest general could only stare at the man in front of him, unable to speak or do anything.

Although I was a stranger for Gan Ning, I could read what flashed in his eyes. He was debating with himself whether he would kiss my general or not. Apparently, he still hadn't forgotten General Ling Tong's reaction the last time he did that. What I couldn't believe was why my dearest general did nothing... I mean, if you were in his position and you were _supposed_ to hate the man who killed your father, you would at least shove the man, right?

Maybe General Ling Tong understood what my mind had said, because he shook his head and took a step back, determined to keep some distance between them. He stared at the ground then, but if only he had looked up, he would've seen a flash of hurt in Gan Ning's eyes.

Realizing where they were, the ex-pirate then muttered, "C'mon, we still have a battle to fight." And with that, he ran ahead, leaving General Ling Tong behind. I stole a glance to my general, half-wondering what kind of reaction he had now. Much to my surprise, he had one of those unreadable expressions on his face, while he kept staring at the retreating back of Gan Ning. He huffed and quickly made his way forward, dashing to where Cao Cao was supposed to be. Perhaps it was the wind but I could've sworn that I heard a soft voice saying, "Damn you, Gan Ning."

&&&&&&&&&&

As expected, we were victorious at He Fei. But now, the ruler of Shu, Liu Bei was trying to get Lord Sun Ce's head on a plate. Therefore, he tried to attack us but unfortunately for him, we had too many talented and brave people in our kingdom. After the attack failed, he and what remained of Shu had to defend at Yi Ling. Zhuge Liang, the Sleeping Dragon, made a huge maze, perhaps trying to confuse and reduce our soldier's moral.

But even with Zhuge Liang on their side, it hadn't enough. First of all, the maze was solved with great efforts by Lu Xun, a young strategist who was in charge of this battle. Second, Lu Xun successfully carried out his famous Fire Attack and managed to burn down Shu's camp.

The victory was at hand of course, but that was not my point. Another...incident happened at Yi Ling, in the middle of battlefield, really.

I didn't know what went through General Ling Tong's head, because once again, he got surrounded by enemy soldiers. Or perhaps there were some secret affairs between Zhuge Liang and Sima Yi?

Anyway, although he got surrounded, this time he wasn't alone. I mean, I was there of course, but the former pirate seemed to always be _there_ for him. Was it just accident if you got separated _together_ with someone and surrounded _together_ with that someone? Certainly not. If it wasn't because of _that_ someone following you, it must be because of the secret affairs between Zhuge Liang and Sima Yi.

Alright, now let's go back to the incident, shall we? General Ling Tong and Gan Ning stood back to back, with some Shu soldiers around them. They got their defense positions ready in an instant. What I couldn't believe from both of them was their ability to argue in the middle of battlefield. Before he made any move, the feather lover complained, "Since when did you rely on me on protecting your back?"

"Do you think I enjoy this?" my dearest general countered. While the longhaired general said this, Gan Ning already moved forward, slashing one of the poor soldiers in front of him. The other soldiers seemed taken aback with the sudden death of their friends and General Ling Tong used this time to wield his Nunchaku, making some ill-fated soldiers unconscious. Maybe he thought their banter wasn't enough, so he added, "It's not easy having to clean up after a reckless brute like you." Ah, there it was! You hadn't forgotten that the man behind you was a reckless brute after all.

"Hah! Fancy way to say you're having trouble keeping up," barked Gan Ning.

Excuse me? That was MY General you were talking about, you reckless brute! General Ling Tong certainly had no trouble keeping up with _that_ amount of army, mind you. C'mon General, you had to say something, don't lose to that former pirate!

"Sheesh, when did you learn to be such a jerk?"

"Since I met someone equally jerk."

"What!"

"Oh, that someone also has incapability in hearing, it seems."

"You know the word incapability I see."

"My brain is not all brawns for your information."

"With a thick skull as protection?"

"Not all of us has long hair and effeminate looks, you know."

"At least it's better than running around half naked."

"Hey! That was some-"

"EHM!"

Oops, maybe their little banter had gone too far, for Lord Zhou Yu had come to settle it by his own. General Ling Tong and Gan Ning stopped dead in their tracks with only several inches separated them. Two little heads turned to face Lord Zhou Yu, both with angry expression on each of them. I was sure angry retorts were ready on their tongue, but seeing their superior ahead of them must made these two guys swallow most of the insults.

"Alright guys now turned around and see the intersection there. See it? Good. Now, Ling Tong, if you don't mind, would you go the left side and chase Liu Bei? While you Gan Ning, you need to go around the maze and hold the defenses there, in case Liu Bei got away. You will do that, won't you?" asked Lord Zhou Yu. Well, it was not a question if you ask me, more like an order. My general couldn't refuse of course, since he was such an obedient guy. He saluted and muttered, "Yes Sir."

With no further instruction he mounted his horse and was about to leave, but not before he said, "We'll settle this later, you stupid oaf," to the former pirate.

Whistling and applause sound were heard soon after that and all of us turned to see Lord Sun Ce, our current ruler sat beamingly on his horse.

"That was an ambiguity there Ling Tong, and you two argued like an old married couple, do you realize that? But we still have a battle to fight, so perhaps you can aside whatever problem you have now. After this war over, you can continue your old bickering and have a goodnight sex," Lord Sun Ce advised with a smirk.

"WHAT!"

"YEAHHH!"

Two voices rose in the air at the same time. However, as seconds were tickling by, birds sang somewhere far, silent fell upon us. Then, we all turned to see the source of the second voice, nonetheless: Gan Ning. At this point, I was particularly sure that Lord Sun Ce had to hide his small smile. Disbelief came to my general's eyes and he looked to the former pirate with shock clearly written on his face.

Realizing that most of us, including the horses we rode on, were staring at him, Gan Ning quickly made an excuse to flee. "I'll go to chase Liu Bei," he said and with that he ran ahead, leaving us behind.

Perhaps he hadn't recover from the shock, because the next minute General Ling Tong uttered, "...I...I'll go to chase Liu Bei."

Yes, I knew it was the same thing as what Gan Ning had said earlier, but c'mon, my general wasn't in a right mind now, after that stupid love declaration from an equally stupid pirate. With him riding his horse ahead of me, I was left with no choice but to follow him. After saluting to Lord Sun Ce and his lov-best friend, I mounted my own horse and chased the longhaired general. But before I had gone too far, I heard a little conversation behind me.

"So, what do you think Zhou Yu? Think that they'll get together after they realized that they're going to the same direction?"

"The chance of that is perhaps as minuscule as the chance of Cao Cao to abdicate tomorrow. Ling Tong is a brave and intelligent general, but he's the worst at a matter of heart. Not that the other guy gives any help as well."

"Well...it wouldn't hurt to imagine that Cao Cao is going to resign tomorrow."

"Wouldn't it be better if you imagine a more convenient subject, Ce?"

"Of course! Involving you, me and a mattress."

"Cut that off from your mind now if you don't want to sleep outside tonight."

"I know you want that."

"Shut up."

&&&&&&&&

We had won the war and now the land was under our control. Well, it wasn't impossible, seeing what we get here in Wu were more than capable officers. Lord Sun Ce had been crowned as The Emperor few months ago and now he and his lov-best friend were facing a great deal as the new ruler. There were so many meetings that needed to be attended, so many documents to sign. Not to mention some little rebellions here and there at our borders. Fortunately, none of those rebels was risky enough until one of the main generals needed to go there.

Speaking of generals, do you want to know what happen next with General Ling Tong and Gan Ning?

Well, as the war came to an end, these two generals found themselves at the main barrack in the Capital City, along with the other officers. They were quite busy, as Wu had decided to recruit some new soldiers to rebuild our forces and Lord Sun Ce left this issue to General Ling Tong and Gan Ning. What about their relationship, you may ask?

Well, I didn't think there was any change about it. They still argued about anything that could be argued. Lord Sun Ce and Lord Zhou Yu both seemed distressed enough with the fact that they still had this little-will-to-kill in their eyes.

I also thought the same way, until I found the truth at one, full moon night.

The crickets sang lightly in the garden and Gan Ning was walking down the hallway, perhaps he had finished training with some newly recruits. On his way to his bedroom, however, he was stopped by General Ling Tong who had appeared suddenly. His hands were suspiciously behind his back, as if he was holding something. I was sure that in the former pirate's mind, of course my general would carry his beloved Nunchaku. Plus, you didn't need to squint your eyes to see the sneer on his face and of course this quickly lit Gan Ning's anger.

"Huh? You still haven't had enough yet?" he asked, ready for any answer the long-haired general would give, even if that meant another duel practice with him.

The sneer on his face was replaced by a small smile and my general answered, "No, sorry but I couldn't rest until I destroy you completely." Much to my amazement, after saying this, General Ling Tong produced a board of chess from his back. So, it wasn't Nunchaku what he was holding, but a board of Chinese Chess, completed with the pieces. Really, General, you never stopped to amaze me. How he could hide that board behind his small back was beyond my logic.

Realization and surprise came to Gan Ning's eyes. But before he could say any word, General Ling Tong was already walking towards the reckless brute's bedroom, and he placed the board on a table. He calmly sat on a chair while Gan Ning strolled inside. This longhaired general clapped his hand once and asked, "So, do you think you can take me?"

The former pirate's eyes widened at the double-meaning words, maybe the shock was still there because he could only utter, "I think you just..." but he shook his head, chose the more positive possibility and answered with determination, "I may have this time."

After that, Gan Ning closed the door. Unable to resist the urge to know more, I tiptoed towards the door and placed my ear carefully. I had hoped to heard declaration of love or something equally romantic, but much to my disappointment, I heard, "Li Jin, if you don't go to your own room now, I swear I will cut your ear tomorrow."

I snorted at this point, knowing that there was no way General Ling Tong would do that to me. However I realized that he needed some privacy, so I left the hallway and headed to my own bedroom, but not before I said, "Have a good sex, general."

Okay, so that is the end of my story. Hilarious and ironic, isn't it? To think that you falls in love with someone who killed your own father? But I guess we can't choose with whom we want to fall in love, and both of my general and Gan Ning are able to set aside their hatred and finally come honest with their own hearts. I respect them more because of that. I know it isn't easy to forgive someone but I'm glad they finally have each other, although sometimes you can still hear they bickering about unimportant things, like dumplings for example. My general is a vegetarian (that's why he is so lean, by the way) while the former pirate is much more than a carnivore.

Anyway, they got together at last and I heard Lord Sun Ce and Lord Zhou Yu got a quite amount of money from the Qiaos sisters; something about winning the bet. I don't know why, but I think both of General Ling Tong and Gan Ning is the main subject of that bet.

Date finished: 09-June-2006

Author Notes: If you finally come to this section, that means you are expected to push the review button below. Thank you for reading my fanfiction.


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